The colorless oil is responsible for the pungent taste of cruciferous vegetables such as mustard, radish, horseradish, and wasabi.

When these mustard seeds are broken, the enzyme myrosinase is released and acts on a glucosinolate known as sinigrin to give allyl isothiocyanate.

[7] AITC vapor is also used as an antimicrobial and shelf life extender in food packaging.

Synthetic allyl isothiocyanate is used as an insecticide, as an anti-mold agent [9] bacteriocide,[10] and nematicide, and is used in certain cases for crop protection.

[4] Based on in vitro experiments and animal models, allyl isothiocyanate exhibits many of the desirable attributes of a cancer chemopreventive agent.